signos

(Personal Experience on Climate Change)
I had a lot of repeating experience regarding climate change. There was this most unforgettable one when I had to go to school because it was examination day. I need to wake up early because it was a two-hour travel from where we reside going to school. As I remember, it was an 8:30 examination, so I need to leave as early as 6:30 in the morning. It was a good day, the sky was calm, and so I started preparing myself for school. As I took a bath, I suddenly started hearing droplets of rain. At that moment, I cannot distinguish whether it was a heavy rain or not because what I hear was the water droplets from the shower. As I leave the bathroom, I simply took a glance by the window, and I saw dark clouds bringing heavy rain. Still, I was focused on not being late on the examination day so I just continue preparing myself. And at last when I was ready, I saw the flood level rising up to our garage. I called my father and asked him on how I can go to school with that condition. My father told me to first listen to the radio and watch television for the cancellation of classes for that day. I did it for a few minutes but I was quite bothered. What if here in Bulacan it was raining hard but in Quezon City it was not? I was afraid to miss the examination so my father decided to just carry me in his back up to where there is no water on the road. That experience was embarrassing but what can I do? I felt helpless. And I took pity on my father because even if I am not that heavy, carrying me that far is such a burden for him. To cut the story short, I arrived at the school almost whole body wet and what was so irritating was that the examination was cancelled. All I did after that day was to have a really deep sigh. I could not imagine before that day that climate can change in even less than a couple of minutes. And I was shocked on how fast flood water can rise in our place.
(Comments on Signos and www.myfootprint.org)
I am already aware about the worsening issue of Global Warming, but after I watched the documentary ‘Signos: Banta ng Nagbabagong Panahon‘and took the quiz at www.myfootprint.org, I am no longer just aware but also bothered and at the same time worried. I cannot imagine the time when the countries will be occupied by the rising level of water. I am not afraid of death. But I am afraid of violent death. And I don’t want to die just because of our wrong doings and activities that destroy the earth. We should not blame God because of the disasters that happen nowadays. Let us admit our mistakes and do the right choice. We are the ones who destroy it so we should take the blame and correct it. We are given this wonderful place to be cared of but we abused it and now we are experiencing its revenge. I believe there is still enough time for us to heal what was destroyed.
(What do you want to o about it?)
We are aware that responding to the challenge of controlling global warming will require us fundamental changes in energy production, transportation, industry, government policies, and development strategies around the world. These changes take time. The challenge for us today is to manage the impacts that cannot be avoided while taking steps to prevent more severe impacts in the future.
Let us reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, also called greenhouse gas mitigation; it is a necessary strategy for controlling global warming. According to experts there are two major approaches to slowing the buildup of greenhouse gases. One is to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The other is to keep carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere by storing the gas or its carbon component somewhere else, a strategy known as carbon sequestration or carbon capture. One simple way to keep carbon dioxide emissions from reaching the atmosphere is to preserve and plant more trees. Trees, especially young and fast-growing ones, soak up a great deal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
We know that gases emitted by vehicles contribute a lot to air pollution, so let us practice ourselves to just walk whenever possible rather than using our cars and motorcycles. Let us use energy efficient appliances. Nowadays, it seems that it is an additional expense buying this energy-saving appliances but let us take this as a good investment in taking care of our environment.
Let us take this fight against Global warming seriously because our lives and the earth are in danger.


Greenhouse Effect

Industrial Air Pollution
Contaminants pouring from industrial smokestacks contribute to the world’s atmospheric pollution. Some of these contaminants, such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, are greenhouse gases. Once in the atmosphere, these gases act to retain the long-wave radiation (heat) emitted by Earth in a process known as the greenhouse effect.
Coal-Burning Power Plant
This power plant burns coal to produce electricity. The burning of coal and other fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the second most abundant greenhouse gas, after water vapor. Human activities have significantly increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and scientists have linked this increase to global warming.

Alaskan Tundra
Global warming has been most dramatic in the Arctic, where temperatures have risen almost twice as much as the global average. The vast tundra (Arctic plains) of Alaska, Siberia, and other subpolar regions contains a layer of frozen subsoil called permafrost. The area of frozen ground has decreased due to rising temperatures, and scientists are concerned that as the permafrost melts it will release large amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. This would accelerate global warming.

Smog in Los Angeles
Ozone in the lower atmosphere is a component of smog, a severe type of air pollution. This low-altitude ozone is a greenhouse gas formed by nitrogen oxides and volatile organic gases emitted by automobiles and industrial sources. In contrast, ozone in the upper atmosphere forms the ozone layer, which shields life on Earth from the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation.

Arctic Ice Cover in 1979 and 2005
Surface temperatures in the Arctic have risen almost twice as much as the global average. Satellites have made continual observations of Arctic sea ice since 1978. The extent of Arctic sea ice has declined by about 8.5 percent per decade from its size in 1979 (top image). Since 2002 satellite records have revealed unusually early onsets of springtime melting in the areas north of Alaska and Siberia, as well as a smaller recovery of sea ice during the winter season. In 2005 (bottom image) satellites showed the lowest extent of Arctic sea ice on record.
Shrinking Greenland Ice Sheet
The Greenland ice sheet underwent extensive surface melting from 1992 to 2002, according to the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report released in 2004. Tinted areas in these satellite images show the extent of surface melting in 1992 and in 2002. The report warned that the melting of Greenland’s ice sheet and the melting of glaciers in Alaska and Canada are increasingly contributing to a rise in the world’s sea level.
Low-Lying Island Nation
The government of Maldives, a low-lying island nation in the Indian Ocean, has expressed concern over rising sea level attributed to global warming. Most of the land of Maldives sits only 2 m (6.5 ft) above sea level, and even a modest rise could threaten the nation’s existence. Maldives has a larger population than some other island nations, such as Tuvalu and Kiribati, which are already experiencing saltwater intrusion due to rising sea level.
Flooding in Bangladesh
Annual monsoon rains inundate Bangladesh from May to October, causing floods in the heavily populated areas along the Bay of Bengal. The large population of Bangladesh would be particularly susceptible to the effects of rising sea level due to global warming.

Polar BearPolar bears and other animals in the polar regions are especially vulnerable to the effects of global warming, such as dwindling sea ice. These animals are uniquely adapted to their environments, and for them migration to other regions is not possible. Animals in warmer regions may shift their ranges toward the poles and to higher elevations as global temperatures